If you're a girl you're very familiar with the ability to put a shirt on top of another shirt and then take the shirt underneath off. Without showing an inch of skin the entire time.
If you ask a girl how we learned to do so, we'll talk about gym class and modesty - truth is it's an expression of insecurity about the quality of our bodies underneath.
So we all learn to do it pretty early on, and we do it often, and perfect it while still pretty young.
Today I was at Canada's Wonderland, and I got a little chilly around 8:30pm, so I put my sweatshirt on. but then I found that because I had 2 T-Shirts on underneath, it was a little too hot. So I twisted and finagled, and managed to take my base layer T-Shirt off, under the other T-Shirt and Sweatshirt. And True to form, I do so without flashing an inch of skin.
Well I was impressed with my accomplishment - it's not easy taking a fitted T off under another slightly less fitted T. And so as we were leaving the concert area, I wondered about my ability to do accomplish a similar task with pants.
I was wearing my jean capris (they are loose, this has an effect). So I took my also very loose yoga pants out of my bag, and put them on on top of my jean capris. Well with twisting and hopping, and taking off of a shoe - I did it!
I was able to take off one pair of pants from underneath another pair of pants without flashing anybody.
Angela is my witness.
Admittedly I must have looked ridiculous, hopping around on one foot. And when I managed to get one leg off, and had to shove it back up over to the other leg to then come down and off - I had a few moments where I looked like I had an elephant crawling down my leg under my pants.
But a monumental accomplishment it remains, despite how foolish it may have looked.
I feel very accomplished and proud.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
What a way to start the day
So this morning I'm minding my own business and driving to work on a dreary, drizzly Thursday morning.
I look over to my left, and the guy in the passenger seat of a white cube van is looking over at me. (you know the kinda van, where they store dead bodies in the back in B movies).
So I kinda look away, but then peek back again, and smile at him.
So now he rolls down his window, and is kinda half sticking out - to look over at me.
Ok so this has pushed past my threshold of ok into mildly concerning/creepy - and I do my best not to look at him again.
Well about a block and half later he leans out, and blows me a kiss. I couldn't help but giggle.
Then the car had to change lanes, and I continued along my merry way to work.
But suddenly I was smiling despite the dreary drizzly day.
Thank you cute stranger - it was a nice way to start my day.
I look over to my left, and the guy in the passenger seat of a white cube van is looking over at me. (you know the kinda van, where they store dead bodies in the back in B movies).
So I kinda look away, but then peek back again, and smile at him.
So now he rolls down his window, and is kinda half sticking out - to look over at me.
Ok so this has pushed past my threshold of ok into mildly concerning/creepy - and I do my best not to look at him again.
Well about a block and half later he leans out, and blows me a kiss. I couldn't help but giggle.
Then the car had to change lanes, and I continued along my merry way to work.
But suddenly I was smiling despite the dreary drizzly day.
Thank you cute stranger - it was a nice way to start my day.
Monday, June 01, 2009
The Friend Zone
Do you have any friends who just always seem to magically float from one relationship to another? You know the guy/gal who always seems to meet someone at the grocery store, or Tim Horton's, after about 2 weeks of being single. And somehow their 5 minute conversation with this incredibly cute member of the opposite sex, leads to a phone number exchange, and usually at least a few dates, if nothing else.
And then there are people like me (please God, don't let me be the only one!) We have no trouble talking to people of the opposite sex, and make friends quite easily. But somehow for that one person that we kinda like, we always seem to NOT turn into a potential love interest for them, but rather a best bud.
Somehow you go from imagining what your "new name" would sound like, to giving him advice about how to approach the person he's interested in. The advice giving smarts worse than road rash on your face with your salty sweat running down into it.
I know that I am very guarded about my interest in someone, and I wonder if most of the guys I've liked would even have a clue that I ever did. But still - how is it that this keeps happening to me?
I have developed a theory that every interaction with an available member of the opposite sex (assuming that is whom you are attracted to), begins with the potential for a more than just friends relationship. No matter how buried beneath the surface, and unbeknownst to your conscious mind - it's there. Now there seems to be a pivotal point where the potential shifts and you are firmly in the friend zone.
I don't know what tips the scales in the favour of the friend zone. I refuse to buy the line "you're just too good a catch" - that's a bunch of malarky. If you truly were that incredible a catch, shouldn't you be beating off suitors with a stick?! (but thanks for trying to stroke my battered Ego anyways)
And the timing is not fixed - it can take a moment, a day, a week or a month. I've personally never had it take more than a month, but that may be just me.
So many variables remain undisclosed. And the mystery of the friend zone remains.
Nothing I can do about it, until I figure it out I guess - until then, here's to my next "friend".
And then there are people like me (please God, don't let me be the only one!) We have no trouble talking to people of the opposite sex, and make friends quite easily. But somehow for that one person that we kinda like, we always seem to NOT turn into a potential love interest for them, but rather a best bud.
Somehow you go from imagining what your "new name" would sound like, to giving him advice about how to approach the person he's interested in. The advice giving smarts worse than road rash on your face with your salty sweat running down into it.
I know that I am very guarded about my interest in someone, and I wonder if most of the guys I've liked would even have a clue that I ever did. But still - how is it that this keeps happening to me?
I have developed a theory that every interaction with an available member of the opposite sex (assuming that is whom you are attracted to), begins with the potential for a more than just friends relationship. No matter how buried beneath the surface, and unbeknownst to your conscious mind - it's there. Now there seems to be a pivotal point where the potential shifts and you are firmly in the friend zone.
I don't know what tips the scales in the favour of the friend zone. I refuse to buy the line "you're just too good a catch" - that's a bunch of malarky. If you truly were that incredible a catch, shouldn't you be beating off suitors with a stick?! (but thanks for trying to stroke my battered Ego anyways)
And the timing is not fixed - it can take a moment, a day, a week or a month. I've personally never had it take more than a month, but that may be just me.
So many variables remain undisclosed. And the mystery of the friend zone remains.
Nothing I can do about it, until I figure it out I guess - until then, here's to my next "friend".
Friday, April 17, 2009
This is NOT a Pitt Stop
Lately I have found myself in an oddly reflective frame of mind.
It's a good kind of reflection. Powerful, encouraging and motivating.
And true to form, God is coming at me from all directions to drive this new truth home.
So here's what's been going on:
#1 - I've started hanging out with an old friend again. It's been a while since we connected. She's a blast! I have been so invigorated by my interactions with her. She's the first person I have ever met who has actually thoroughly celebrated being single. Most people I know whether consciously or subconsciously treat being single as a pitt stop. A necessary but temporary state towards the goal.
And while I do want to get married and have a family of my own, I have caught her enthusiasm for "this is perfect for right now, and purposeful right now!"
So while I am a novice at living in the moment, and not worrying about tomorrow, because today has enough troubles of it's own (Matthew 6:34) - I am amazed at the effect my just starting out baby steps have had.
For example, my previous self, if I had met a guy that seemed nice, and cute, and interesting would probably would have started thinking about what we would be like in a relationship together, what our wedding would look like, and probably even what we would name our children.
The new and improved me, just thinks, cool, nice guy, cute and interesting. And that's it!
The old me would get uncomfortable when a stranger would smile at me - I'd think, who is this person, what do they want, and my future thinking brain would wander.
The new me, was walking to class last week, and a very very good looking guy smiled at me. So my live in the moment self smiled back.
It was nice.
It's not always easy, my brain is so used to being a future-thinking entity. Sometimes I have to push the future thinking back down. And sometimes it's ok to let the future thinker wander - it is an important part of somethings, just not EVERYTHING.
I am really enjoying the new and improved try-to-live-in-the-moment-most-of-the-time me.
It's a good kind of reflection. Powerful, encouraging and motivating.
And true to form, God is coming at me from all directions to drive this new truth home.
So here's what's been going on:
#1 - I've started hanging out with an old friend again. It's been a while since we connected. She's a blast! I have been so invigorated by my interactions with her. She's the first person I have ever met who has actually thoroughly celebrated being single. Most people I know whether consciously or subconsciously treat being single as a pitt stop. A necessary but temporary state towards the goal.
And while I do want to get married and have a family of my own, I have caught her enthusiasm for "this is perfect for right now, and purposeful right now!"
So while I am a novice at living in the moment, and not worrying about tomorrow, because today has enough troubles of it's own (Matthew 6:34) - I am amazed at the effect my just starting out baby steps have had.
For example, my previous self, if I had met a guy that seemed nice, and cute, and interesting would probably would have started thinking about what we would be like in a relationship together, what our wedding would look like, and probably even what we would name our children.
The new and improved me, just thinks, cool, nice guy, cute and interesting. And that's it!
The old me would get uncomfortable when a stranger would smile at me - I'd think, who is this person, what do they want, and my future thinking brain would wander.
The new me, was walking to class last week, and a very very good looking guy smiled at me. So my live in the moment self smiled back.
It was nice.
It's not always easy, my brain is so used to being a future-thinking entity. Sometimes I have to push the future thinking back down. And sometimes it's ok to let the future thinker wander - it is an important part of somethings, just not EVERYTHING.
I am really enjoying the new and improved try-to-live-in-the-moment-most-of-the-time me.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
The up-swing
Amazing the things that can happen in a week. And the huge effects it can have on one's mood and outlook.
My Teta (read grandmother in Arabic) is home from hospital. She had a lumbar puncture, which drained some of the excess CSF in her brain. And has resulted in some very positive albeit slight improvements.
I finished my group presentation in the course I am taking, just one final paper to complete (I am procrastinating a little on completing it) and 3 classes left.
I have actual food in house more often than not now, not only beverages :)
It's not pitch black outside at 4:30pm anymore!! I actually didn't have to turn my headlights on in my car until 7:43pm yesterday!
And I am feeling great!
It's such a turn around.
I was tired and grumpy, and sick just a little while ago!
So I'm looking to celebrate!
Life is sweet.
God is good (well, God is always good, I just wasn't paying attention for a while).
My Teta (read grandmother in Arabic) is home from hospital. She had a lumbar puncture, which drained some of the excess CSF in her brain. And has resulted in some very positive albeit slight improvements.
I finished my group presentation in the course I am taking, just one final paper to complete (I am procrastinating a little on completing it) and 3 classes left.
I have actual food in house more often than not now, not only beverages :)
It's not pitch black outside at 4:30pm anymore!! I actually didn't have to turn my headlights on in my car until 7:43pm yesterday!
And I am feeling great!
It's such a turn around.
I was tired and grumpy, and sick just a little while ago!
So I'm looking to celebrate!
Life is sweet.
God is good (well, God is always good, I just wasn't paying attention for a while).
Thursday, March 19, 2009
I HATE feeling helpless
I think my parents were extra-diligent to make me independent and self-sufficient. Maybe it was foreshadowing for the future they knew was inevitable.
Then when my parents' divorced I was totally parentified, and had to flex my "be in charge" skills.
And they did a good job, I am good at it.
I don't know how to ask for help, because even when I wanted/needed it, there was nobody around who could help.
So I learned how to figure things out on my own. How to take care of things.
That is my job. My role.
I think that's also why my mom relies on me so much in facilitating the care of my grandmother.
Here's where my steps start to falter. I feel so helpless, and I don't know how to deal with that. My mom is stressed, and over-reacting (as she is apt to do), and my whole family is looking at me to take charge.
And I'm trying, but what can I do?
Sometimes I think if only I had followed through with becoming a doctor I could be more helpful now. But then, I might have been just as helpless, it's not like I had planned to be a geriatric psychiatrist or neurologist.
My grandmother was admitted to hospital today, for hopefully what will prove to be a short stay. She had a CT scan done when we brought her to the emergency room 2 weeks ago, and it showed some hydrocephalus(sp?).
So now she needs some more tests, and possibly a spinal tap to help drain the excess CSF.
It's funny how I expected to spend the bulk of my life working in a hospital, and how I never minded them, and now I hate hospitals.
Her room stinks of urine.
She seems so small, and distraught by all the strangeness around her.
A different stranger (part of the nursing staff and medical team) keeps coming in to ask the same questions.
I can hear the others in other rooms, and their loved ones, trying to help, trying to bring some routine and normalcy into this abnormal existence.
And I feel totally helpless. I can't do anything when she complains of pain, because she can't tell me where it hurts. I can't tell the doctors what to do, because they're already doing what they can, and what they should. Well, that and they know more than me :)
I don't know how to help reassure my mom or my aunt, so I just snap at them to hold it together. Tell them this is not the time or the place to behave this way. Then I feel guilty. It's not fair, that's how they're handling what's going on, they have a right to their own coping strategies.
So I am left feeling helpless, and I hate it.
Then when my parents' divorced I was totally parentified, and had to flex my "be in charge" skills.
And they did a good job, I am good at it.
I don't know how to ask for help, because even when I wanted/needed it, there was nobody around who could help.
So I learned how to figure things out on my own. How to take care of things.
That is my job. My role.
I think that's also why my mom relies on me so much in facilitating the care of my grandmother.
Here's where my steps start to falter. I feel so helpless, and I don't know how to deal with that. My mom is stressed, and over-reacting (as she is apt to do), and my whole family is looking at me to take charge.
And I'm trying, but what can I do?
Sometimes I think if only I had followed through with becoming a doctor I could be more helpful now. But then, I might have been just as helpless, it's not like I had planned to be a geriatric psychiatrist or neurologist.
My grandmother was admitted to hospital today, for hopefully what will prove to be a short stay. She had a CT scan done when we brought her to the emergency room 2 weeks ago, and it showed some hydrocephalus(sp?).
So now she needs some more tests, and possibly a spinal tap to help drain the excess CSF.
It's funny how I expected to spend the bulk of my life working in a hospital, and how I never minded them, and now I hate hospitals.
Her room stinks of urine.
She seems so small, and distraught by all the strangeness around her.
A different stranger (part of the nursing staff and medical team) keeps coming in to ask the same questions.
I can hear the others in other rooms, and their loved ones, trying to help, trying to bring some routine and normalcy into this abnormal existence.
And I feel totally helpless. I can't do anything when she complains of pain, because she can't tell me where it hurts. I can't tell the doctors what to do, because they're already doing what they can, and what they should. Well, that and they know more than me :)
I don't know how to help reassure my mom or my aunt, so I just snap at them to hold it together. Tell them this is not the time or the place to behave this way. Then I feel guilty. It's not fair, that's how they're handling what's going on, they have a right to their own coping strategies.
So I am left feeling helpless, and I hate it.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Karma
Do you ever notice how people always only ever talk about Karma in a negative sense?
They seem to only notice when things are not going well.
I am no exception, I was over at a friend's last night, and I guess said something about having bad Karma several times - and well I was called on it.
Now the other weird thing about my perceptions of Karma is that it's not overarching, it seems to be localized to certain areas. However by definition, Karma is a general overarching principle - you get back what you put out.
So I technically have good Karma for some things - I seem to win a lot of tickets to sporting events - and pretty good seats too.
And I seem to have very good Karma with strangers. Just the other week a gas station attendant bought me a lottery ticket, because he felt I looked lucky, and I didn't want to buy one.
I have good Karma for finding people to spend time with - I am never alone for too long when I don't want to be.
Here's the other inconsistency, Karma's suppose to be about what you put out there. Well, I'm pretty sure that I'm a consistent predictable person, so shouldn't my Karma be consistent across all genres?
I guess Karma is definitely not an exact science - if a science at all :)
They seem to only notice when things are not going well.
I am no exception, I was over at a friend's last night, and I guess said something about having bad Karma several times - and well I was called on it.
Now the other weird thing about my perceptions of Karma is that it's not overarching, it seems to be localized to certain areas. However by definition, Karma is a general overarching principle - you get back what you put out.
So I technically have good Karma for some things - I seem to win a lot of tickets to sporting events - and pretty good seats too.
And I seem to have very good Karma with strangers. Just the other week a gas station attendant bought me a lottery ticket, because he felt I looked lucky, and I didn't want to buy one.
I have good Karma for finding people to spend time with - I am never alone for too long when I don't want to be.
Here's the other inconsistency, Karma's suppose to be about what you put out there. Well, I'm pretty sure that I'm a consistent predictable person, so shouldn't my Karma be consistent across all genres?
I guess Karma is definitely not an exact science - if a science at all :)
Thursday, February 12, 2009
The Bucket List
Place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X from the ones you have not, then send it to your friends.
Things you have done during your lifetime:
(x) Gone on a blind date - more than one
(x) Skipped school - not until I was 18 and able to provide my own notes for absences
() Watched someone die
(x) Been to Canada
() Been to Mexico
() Been to Florida
() Been to Hawaii
(x) Been on a plane - got to fly one once
() Been on a helicopter
(x) Been lost
(x) Gone to Washington, DC - grade 9 school trip
(x) Swam in the ocean - several actually :)
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(X) Played cops and robbers
() Recently colored with crayons
(x) Sang Karaoke - on the night Laura met Andrew
(x) Paid for a meal with coins only
( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch - I don't even know where or what that is!
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't.
() Made prank phone calls
( ) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose & elsewhere
() Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(x) Danced in the rain
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus
() Been kissed under the mistletoe
() Watched the sunrise with someone
(x) Blown bubbles
(x) Gone ice-skating
(x) Gone to the movies
( ) Been deep sea fishing
( ) Driven across the United States
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
( ) Been sky diving
( ) Gone snowmobiling
(x) Lived in more than one country
(x) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets - Dryden Ontario during Challenge '97 - best Northern lights ever!
() Seen a falling star and made a wish
( ) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
() Seen the Statue of Liberty
( ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
(x) Been on a cruise - Nile cruise
() Traveled by train
(x) Traveled by motorcycle - I have been a passenger once, AWESOME ride!
(x) Been horse back riding
( ) Ridden on a San Francisco CABLE CAR
() Been to Disneyworld
(X) Truly believe in the power of prayer
( ) Been in a rain forest
( ) Seen whales in the ocean
(x) Been to Niagara Falls
(X ) Ridden on an elephant - YUP, at the Ex, with Emma
( ) Swam with dolphins
() Been to the Olympics
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
( ) Saw and heard a glacier calf
( ) Been spinnaker flying
() Been water-skiing
() Been snow-skiing
( )Been to Westminster Abbey
() Been to the Louvre
(X) Swam in the Mediterranean
(x) Been to a Major League Baseball game
(x) Been to a National Football League game - as long as CFL counts
( ) Jumped in the ocean when it was 20 degrees - I don't know what 20 degrees translates to, but I think the cold that one Canada day (where Matt in his wetsuit was like" It's not that cold.") should count! Well except that was a lake, not an Ocean, but it was still very very cold!
Things you have done during your lifetime:
(x) Gone on a blind date - more than one
(x) Skipped school - not until I was 18 and able to provide my own notes for absences
() Watched someone die
(x) Been to Canada
() Been to Mexico
() Been to Florida
() Been to Hawaii
(x) Been on a plane - got to fly one once
() Been on a helicopter
(x) Been lost
(x) Gone to Washington, DC - grade 9 school trip
(x) Swam in the ocean - several actually :)
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(X) Played cops and robbers
() Recently colored with crayons
(x) Sang Karaoke - on the night Laura met Andrew
(x) Paid for a meal with coins only
( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch - I don't even know where or what that is!
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't.
() Made prank phone calls
( ) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose & elsewhere
() Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(x) Danced in the rain
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus
() Been kissed under the mistletoe
() Watched the sunrise with someone
(x) Blown bubbles
(x) Gone ice-skating
(x) Gone to the movies
( ) Been deep sea fishing
( ) Driven across the United States
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
( ) Been sky diving
( ) Gone snowmobiling
(x) Lived in more than one country
(x) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets - Dryden Ontario during Challenge '97 - best Northern lights ever!
() Seen a falling star and made a wish
( ) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
() Seen the Statue of Liberty
( ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
(x) Been on a cruise - Nile cruise
() Traveled by train
(x) Traveled by motorcycle - I have been a passenger once, AWESOME ride!
(x) Been horse back riding
( ) Ridden on a San Francisco CABLE CAR
() Been to Disneyworld
(X) Truly believe in the power of prayer
( ) Been in a rain forest
( ) Seen whales in the ocean
(x) Been to Niagara Falls
(X ) Ridden on an elephant - YUP, at the Ex, with Emma
( ) Swam with dolphins
() Been to the Olympics
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
( ) Saw and heard a glacier calf
( ) Been spinnaker flying
() Been water-skiing
() Been snow-skiing
( )Been to Westminster Abbey
() Been to the Louvre
(X) Swam in the Mediterranean
(x) Been to a Major League Baseball game
(x) Been to a National Football League game - as long as CFL counts
( ) Jumped in the ocean when it was 20 degrees - I don't know what 20 degrees translates to, but I think the cold that one Canada day (where Matt in his wetsuit was like" It's not that cold.") should count! Well except that was a lake, not an Ocean, but it was still very very cold!
Monday, December 01, 2008
Dick Clarke's Rocking New Year's Eve
First off, thank you Margaret for the nudge to develop a new post.
Ok, so It's December.
The year is 31 days from being over.
31 days until 2009.
Wow!
That was fast!
And while Christmas is a family holiday, and most people have set traditions for this time of year, I find that New Year's Eve is a whole different story.
It's the most anti-climactic holiday of the year as far as I'm concerned. Now I think I'm fairly lucky in that I usually get a couple of invites to a couple of different house parties, where we kind of just mellow, and if I'm lucky we play Trivial Pursuit (my favourite game!). It's just the right way to pass into the new year: In the company of good friends.
But this scenario didn't really develop until I was old enough to have friends with their own houses.
And I think a lot of people like to dress up and go out somewhere exorbitantly expensive and a lot of emphasis is put on whom you are going to kiss at midnight.
Well I had a boyfriend for 3 New Year's Eve's and I never kissed anybody at midnight.
I also think it's weird that so much planning and excitement is put into this event, and then it;s like a 10 second count down, a kiss, a couple of noisemakers, and you're done. How much does that suck!
Ok, so I propose a new tradition. Here are the rules:
#1 - the party has to go to 2am at least, preferably all night, if you are able.
#2 - if you have somebody to kiss, you must kiss them at least 3 times, and between each kiss tell them how happy you are to love them, and get to start the next year with them.
#2 a - if you don't have anybody to kiss (like me), you have to do a "I'm happy to be me" dance for at least 30 seconds.
#3 - you need to eat your body weight in sugar or caffeine over the course of the evening (this will help in accomplishing #1)
#4 - Be genuinely happy to have survived 2008, and to have 2009 to look forward to.
#5 - absolutely under no circumstances are you to make any resolutions. (well except maybe find a husband this year - although that didn't work out so great for me last year).
I know it's early, but I just wanted to wish everyone a peaceful and joyful holiday season. And I hope you're not drowning in work like I am.
Ok, so It's December.
The year is 31 days from being over.
31 days until 2009.
Wow!
That was fast!
And while Christmas is a family holiday, and most people have set traditions for this time of year, I find that New Year's Eve is a whole different story.
It's the most anti-climactic holiday of the year as far as I'm concerned. Now I think I'm fairly lucky in that I usually get a couple of invites to a couple of different house parties, where we kind of just mellow, and if I'm lucky we play Trivial Pursuit (my favourite game!). It's just the right way to pass into the new year: In the company of good friends.
But this scenario didn't really develop until I was old enough to have friends with their own houses.
And I think a lot of people like to dress up and go out somewhere exorbitantly expensive and a lot of emphasis is put on whom you are going to kiss at midnight.
Well I had a boyfriend for 3 New Year's Eve's and I never kissed anybody at midnight.
I also think it's weird that so much planning and excitement is put into this event, and then it;s like a 10 second count down, a kiss, a couple of noisemakers, and you're done. How much does that suck!
Ok, so I propose a new tradition. Here are the rules:
#1 - the party has to go to 2am at least, preferably all night, if you are able.
#2 - if you have somebody to kiss, you must kiss them at least 3 times, and between each kiss tell them how happy you are to love them, and get to start the next year with them.
#2 a - if you don't have anybody to kiss (like me), you have to do a "I'm happy to be me" dance for at least 30 seconds.
#3 - you need to eat your body weight in sugar or caffeine over the course of the evening (this will help in accomplishing #1)
#4 - Be genuinely happy to have survived 2008, and to have 2009 to look forward to.
#5 - absolutely under no circumstances are you to make any resolutions. (well except maybe find a husband this year - although that didn't work out so great for me last year).
I know it's early, but I just wanted to wish everyone a peaceful and joyful holiday season. And I hope you're not drowning in work like I am.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Energy Drains
Wow!
I am so disgustingly tired.
It's like any energy my body meagerly attempts to produce is being trickled out.
So I am unable to find the source of the leak - to plug it, and can't seem to produce energy fast enough to augment the leak.
This does not bode well.
I have a big presentation tomorrow night in class - and I am so tired right now, that all I am imagining is me saying to the class - "ok here's the info, read up and good night!"
Just got to make it through tomorrow night, just got to make it through tomorrow night, just got to make it through tomorrow night.....
Not the most inspiring of mantras, but for right now, it's pushing me through.
Even an intense work-out yesterday didn't help. Today I'm tired and muscle sore - which only encourages my tiredness!
ok, so I figure it's just all my travels catching up to me - and I'm hoping that by this week-end, I will have found a way to "recover" my energy.
Because I really would like to just be bouncy again!
I am so disgustingly tired.
It's like any energy my body meagerly attempts to produce is being trickled out.
So I am unable to find the source of the leak - to plug it, and can't seem to produce energy fast enough to augment the leak.
This does not bode well.
I have a big presentation tomorrow night in class - and I am so tired right now, that all I am imagining is me saying to the class - "ok here's the info, read up and good night!"
Just got to make it through tomorrow night, just got to make it through tomorrow night, just got to make it through tomorrow night.....
Not the most inspiring of mantras, but for right now, it's pushing me through.
Even an intense work-out yesterday didn't help. Today I'm tired and muscle sore - which only encourages my tiredness!
ok, so I figure it's just all my travels catching up to me - and I'm hoping that by this week-end, I will have found a way to "recover" my energy.
Because I really would like to just be bouncy again!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
My own worst FunSucker!
Egads! I am turning into my Mother!
I always complain about her being a catastrophizer and here I am doing exactly the same thing.
I am sick of being bummed out.
I am my own worst FunSucker - so I felt the need to inject a little more JoyBringer into this blog.
Everybody all together now - "I'm walking on sunshine, Woah-o!, walking on sunshine....."
So what if I'm going to be 31?
It's really only 1 day older than the day before - big whop!
And so what if I actually spent a whole week-end with my family, that doesn't negate that I have any friends, it just means I designated time to my family. And that's a good thing!
I have a home - now furnished - that's a place I wasn't at this time last year.
I have great friends! Seriously great friends, and LOTS of them - makes me happy.
People keep telling me I have great skin - thank God for that, because every time I try to apply make-up, I end up looking like a battered woman.
I am free to work, practice my religion, shop, cook, vote, live. I am not persecuted for my age, race, religion. I am not forced into servitude or marriage.
I have a good life!
Thank God I remembered that - well thank God that He reminded me :)
I always complain about her being a catastrophizer and here I am doing exactly the same thing.
I am sick of being bummed out.
I am my own worst FunSucker - so I felt the need to inject a little more JoyBringer into this blog.
Everybody all together now - "I'm walking on sunshine, Woah-o!, walking on sunshine....."
So what if I'm going to be 31?
It's really only 1 day older than the day before - big whop!
And so what if I actually spent a whole week-end with my family, that doesn't negate that I have any friends, it just means I designated time to my family. And that's a good thing!
I have a home - now furnished - that's a place I wasn't at this time last year.
I have great friends! Seriously great friends, and LOTS of them - makes me happy.
People keep telling me I have great skin - thank God for that, because every time I try to apply make-up, I end up looking like a battered woman.
I am free to work, practice my religion, shop, cook, vote, live. I am not persecuted for my age, race, religion. I am not forced into servitude or marriage.
I have a good life!
Thank God I remembered that - well thank God that He reminded me :)
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
In Other News....
I am moving up the weight ladder.
I managed 5 bicep curls with 15lb. weights.
And I'm up to a 20 lb. weight for my triceps.
3 months ago, I could barely do 5 bicep curls with 5lb. weights.
Seems small I know, but very exciting!
Today, bicep curls - tomorrow I might just be able to keep up with Emma in the pool!
I managed 5 bicep curls with 15lb. weights.
And I'm up to a 20 lb. weight for my triceps.
3 months ago, I could barely do 5 bicep curls with 5lb. weights.
Seems small I know, but very exciting!
Today, bicep curls - tomorrow I might just be able to keep up with Emma in the pool!
14 days and time keeps speeding up!
14 days until I turn 31.
Yup, 31.
I thought 30 was suppose to be the milestone year?
Why does this feel like such a big deal?
I spent the entirety of the Thanksgiving long week-end with my family. Yep - all 3 days.
It was pretty uneventful and fun (which is shocking for 3 days in family confinement).
Here's the weird part - relaxing week-end, no conflict with the family despite 3 entire days of interaction, yummy thanksgiving dinner, which
I made in it's entirety, that should be a great thing! But instead of feeling happy, I can't help but feel discontented.
I have this sad feeling that this is the best my life is going to get - me and my mother for the rest of my life.
I had zero exciting plans - I just cooked, knit and sat on the sofa scanning through channels all week-end (to add insult to injury, there was nothing good on TV).
In all honesty I did accomplish a lot.
I made dinner for 6 (although I made enough for 12)
Turkey, garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy and maple pumpkin pie. (It was starch heaven!)
I finished the sweater I was knitting for Catherine's baby (started in May, baby was born in July). I even got to deliver it.
I got to unpack, do laundry, repack
All necessary stuff, and should have been worthwhile ends - but they just feel like shallow accomplishments.
but all I keep thinking is "so what?" and "now what?"
Yup, 31.
I thought 30 was suppose to be the milestone year?
Why does this feel like such a big deal?
I spent the entirety of the Thanksgiving long week-end with my family. Yep - all 3 days.
It was pretty uneventful and fun (which is shocking for 3 days in family confinement).
Here's the weird part - relaxing week-end, no conflict with the family despite 3 entire days of interaction, yummy thanksgiving dinner, which
I made in it's entirety, that should be a great thing! But instead of feeling happy, I can't help but feel discontented.
I have this sad feeling that this is the best my life is going to get - me and my mother for the rest of my life.
I had zero exciting plans - I just cooked, knit and sat on the sofa scanning through channels all week-end (to add insult to injury, there was nothing good on TV).
In all honesty I did accomplish a lot.
I made dinner for 6 (although I made enough for 12)
Turkey, garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy and maple pumpkin pie. (It was starch heaven!)
I finished the sweater I was knitting for Catherine's baby (started in May, baby was born in July). I even got to deliver it.
I got to unpack, do laundry, repack
All necessary stuff, and should have been worthwhile ends - but they just feel like shallow accomplishments.
but all I keep thinking is "so what?" and "now what?"
Thursday, October 02, 2008
My Birth Month
It's October already.
Time just keeps speeding up. It's surreal.
The "what have I done with my life" contemplation has started to set in. It's not pretty.
I am nowhere different than I was a year ago. Other than just older, with nothing new to show for it.
Well that's not true - I have a sofa and a dining table and fabulously painted walls. This time last year we were sitting on Caty's sleeping bag in an empty condo.
I have 26 more days of this sad contemplation :(
Time just keeps speeding up. It's surreal.
The "what have I done with my life" contemplation has started to set in. It's not pretty.
I am nowhere different than I was a year ago. Other than just older, with nothing new to show for it.
Well that's not true - I have a sofa and a dining table and fabulously painted walls. This time last year we were sitting on Caty's sleeping bag in an empty condo.
I have 26 more days of this sad contemplation :(
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The Weirdest Dream
Now this may have been because we were talking about the discomforts of gender specific medical exams after dinner last night. Or maybe even because I watched the episode of 90210 where Andrea goes into labour prematurely right before falling asleep, but I had the weirdest dream last night.
And lucky you guys, get to read all about it.
So my dream begins with me suddenly being about 6 months pregnant. And the way I discover in the dream that I am pregnant at all is because the baby starts to move around and makes an unusual impression on my belly which a lady at church sees.
So I am just as shocked as everybody else that this is going on at this point in time.
Then the associate pastor of my church takes me aside to talk to me about this new development. and I say to him - "Mark I have no idea how this could have happened, you don't understand, I've never had sex."
He looks at me skeptically and I am feeling real desperation that he doesn't believe me.
"No seriously, not even close - nothing south of the equator, I swear!" "Heck, technically nothing south of the North Pole!"
So now I am feeling yucky - I am pregnant, I feel like I am totally being shunned as a heretic (who do I think I am the Virgin Mary?). I am pregnant which is cool - but I will have to go through the pain of childbirth.
And I have no idea how any of this happened to me.
I spend the rest of my dream trying desperately to convince people (everyone I know) that I am still a virgin, and nobody is believing me. In fact people are starting to doubt my sanity, and the dreaded sympathy for the poor crazy pregnant girl is coming out.
That's the last part I remember. It was really weird. Especially because I had such mixed emotions in the dream - I was in awe that a life was developing inside me, and shamed because people thought it was ill begotten, and confused because I had no idea how it happened, and hurt because no one believed me.
Weird.
And lucky you guys, get to read all about it.
So my dream begins with me suddenly being about 6 months pregnant. And the way I discover in the dream that I am pregnant at all is because the baby starts to move around and makes an unusual impression on my belly which a lady at church sees.
So I am just as shocked as everybody else that this is going on at this point in time.
Then the associate pastor of my church takes me aside to talk to me about this new development. and I say to him - "Mark I have no idea how this could have happened, you don't understand, I've never had sex."
He looks at me skeptically and I am feeling real desperation that he doesn't believe me.
"No seriously, not even close - nothing south of the equator, I swear!" "Heck, technically nothing south of the North Pole!"
So now I am feeling yucky - I am pregnant, I feel like I am totally being shunned as a heretic (who do I think I am the Virgin Mary?). I am pregnant which is cool - but I will have to go through the pain of childbirth.
And I have no idea how any of this happened to me.
I spend the rest of my dream trying desperately to convince people (everyone I know) that I am still a virgin, and nobody is believing me. In fact people are starting to doubt my sanity, and the dreaded sympathy for the poor crazy pregnant girl is coming out.
That's the last part I remember. It was really weird. Especially because I had such mixed emotions in the dream - I was in awe that a life was developing inside me, and shamed because people thought it was ill begotten, and confused because I had no idea how it happened, and hurt because no one believed me.
Weird.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Jet Setting
I think I may just officially qualify for jet setter status at this point in time.
The first qualifier is that the staff at the hotel counter now know me by name - I've checked in and out weekly for the past couple of week and will continue to do so for the next little while.
I recognize the airline counter folks - there's a super cutie named Andrew who has a British accent at the Porter counter in the Ottawa airport.
And I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooo sick of eating out.
I never thought I would ever say that. Normally a restaurant meal is one of my favourite things. But having to eat out for breakfast, lunch and dinner for so long, is just not as fun as having it as a treat.
I have also had some very yucky restaurant food this last week.
So listen to my twisted, incorrect logic. I had this mediocre Greek food from a restaurant by the office on Thursday night. I didn't like it too much, so I ate less than half. So then I decided to get the rest packed-up for lunch the next day.
Well, in reality food that doesn't taste good does not magically start to taste better after being microwaved the next day.
But I just couldn't bring myself to throw it out. :(
In Arabic there is an expression, "kosara ya batni, l'a ti kob il tabik". Loosely translated it means, better to spoil my stomach than throw away food. I have been raised on that principle and it's a hard habit to break.
On the flip side, I have had some very amazing food - I tried authentic Poutine from a Pattaterie in Quebec for the first time, it was awesome!
So I have my fingers crossed for some great home cooking this week-end, courtesy of my Mom and more enjoyable culinary adventures next week.
The first qualifier is that the staff at the hotel counter now know me by name - I've checked in and out weekly for the past couple of week and will continue to do so for the next little while.
I recognize the airline counter folks - there's a super cutie named Andrew who has a British accent at the Porter counter in the Ottawa airport.
And I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooo sick of eating out.
I never thought I would ever say that. Normally a restaurant meal is one of my favourite things. But having to eat out for breakfast, lunch and dinner for so long, is just not as fun as having it as a treat.
I have also had some very yucky restaurant food this last week.
So listen to my twisted, incorrect logic. I had this mediocre Greek food from a restaurant by the office on Thursday night. I didn't like it too much, so I ate less than half. So then I decided to get the rest packed-up for lunch the next day.
Well, in reality food that doesn't taste good does not magically start to taste better after being microwaved the next day.
But I just couldn't bring myself to throw it out. :(
In Arabic there is an expression, "kosara ya batni, l'a ti kob il tabik". Loosely translated it means, better to spoil my stomach than throw away food. I have been raised on that principle and it's a hard habit to break.
On the flip side, I have had some very amazing food - I tried authentic Poutine from a Pattaterie in Quebec for the first time, it was awesome!
So I have my fingers crossed for some great home cooking this week-end, courtesy of my Mom and more enjoyable culinary adventures next week.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
FunSuckers and JoyBringers
I have lots of friends, and usually I consider that a good thing. But every once in a while I can't help but notice that some of my friends can sometimes be a "FunSucker".
My definition of a FunSucker is someone who somehow manages to suck every ounce of happiness and joy from any event, activity or comment. Like a person who tells you that reason why what you're wearing is not flattering is because your body just wasn't made to look good or will never look good in clothes or some such other thing.
In my experience (and since it's my term, my experience gets to be the expert) they are also the kind of people who perceive the world through a negative lens for themselves as well and are always looking to prove just how much their life sucks worse than anybody else's. The "you think you've got it bad, well...." kind of people.
They're kind of like the black hole of a friendship.
My most recent FunSucker ambush was earlier this week. I had been having a fun day, actually was humming under my breath most of the day at work and had some friends over in the evening. Our conversation turned to me being single (as somehow conversations tend to flow to the most innermost of my thoughts) and I casually mentioned how this can sometimes be a struggle for me. My friend's response was "well you better get used to it, because you're probably going to be single for life. So deal with being lonely, you're stuck with it". DING! all the Fun/Joy of the day immediately sucked out of the room, sucked out of the evening, even sucked out of the day.
In opposition I also have some "JoyBringer" friends. These are the folks whom you just can't help but be happy to be around. They bring fun and happiness to even the most mundane of tasks.
In fact, I have one such friend that my ex-boyfriend used to jealously call "Fun Rob". He would complain that all Rob and I would do is drive around and yet somehow I considered it the most fun activity. And when he and I would drive around it was not as much fun. And he was right. Something about Rob's pleasure in simple things and joy at driving down a new street and blasting the radio was always just so much fun.
Now sometimes the FunSucker and the JoyBringer are not even people but just activities or events or circumstances.
For me, I seem to find many more JoyBringers than FunSuckers fall into this category.
For example, no matter how nasty my day, seeing a rainbow - the symbol of God's promise to Noah to never again destroy the earth in a flood -makes me smile. It reminds me of God's presence and His love.
Or the way I can only smile and sing along when I hear Great Big Sea. It's hard to stay in a bad mood with that music playing.
The fact that laughter is contagious. Or that when the sun shines, people sort of instinctively close their eyes, and turn their faces towards it and smile.
The part that makes me sad is that the FunSucker always trumps the JoyBringer. It doesn't matter how many instances of JoyBringer you've received in a day, it only takes one FunSucker to nullify them.
My definition of a FunSucker is someone who somehow manages to suck every ounce of happiness and joy from any event, activity or comment. Like a person who tells you that reason why what you're wearing is not flattering is because your body just wasn't made to look good or will never look good in clothes or some such other thing.
In my experience (and since it's my term, my experience gets to be the expert) they are also the kind of people who perceive the world through a negative lens for themselves as well and are always looking to prove just how much their life sucks worse than anybody else's. The "you think you've got it bad, well...." kind of people.
They're kind of like the black hole of a friendship.
My most recent FunSucker ambush was earlier this week. I had been having a fun day, actually was humming under my breath most of the day at work and had some friends over in the evening. Our conversation turned to me being single (as somehow conversations tend to flow to the most innermost of my thoughts) and I casually mentioned how this can sometimes be a struggle for me. My friend's response was "well you better get used to it, because you're probably going to be single for life. So deal with being lonely, you're stuck with it". DING! all the Fun/Joy of the day immediately sucked out of the room, sucked out of the evening, even sucked out of the day.
In opposition I also have some "JoyBringer" friends. These are the folks whom you just can't help but be happy to be around. They bring fun and happiness to even the most mundane of tasks.
In fact, I have one such friend that my ex-boyfriend used to jealously call "Fun Rob". He would complain that all Rob and I would do is drive around and yet somehow I considered it the most fun activity. And when he and I would drive around it was not as much fun. And he was right. Something about Rob's pleasure in simple things and joy at driving down a new street and blasting the radio was always just so much fun.
Now sometimes the FunSucker and the JoyBringer are not even people but just activities or events or circumstances.
For me, I seem to find many more JoyBringers than FunSuckers fall into this category.
For example, no matter how nasty my day, seeing a rainbow - the symbol of God's promise to Noah to never again destroy the earth in a flood -makes me smile. It reminds me of God's presence and His love.
Or the way I can only smile and sing along when I hear Great Big Sea. It's hard to stay in a bad mood with that music playing.
The fact that laughter is contagious. Or that when the sun shines, people sort of instinctively close their eyes, and turn their faces towards it and smile.
The part that makes me sad is that the FunSucker always trumps the JoyBringer. It doesn't matter how many instances of JoyBringer you've received in a day, it only takes one FunSucker to nullify them.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
The Lunch Hour Dilemma
Would you rather spend time with people or save money?
What would you do with a free hour in the middle of the day?
I work in a 247 call centre environment. And I am one of the few who is not in a queue answering phones. What that means is that most everybody else is on a staggered lunchtime schedule.
So depending on the time you start you get to take lunch approximately 4 hours later. Also our phone folks are not allowed to overlap lunch - so people only get to be off one person at a time.
So I get an hour for lunch every day - and the possibility of someone being off for lunch with me.
Here's the dilemma - I have an entire hour - and if I bring a lunch I finish it in about 10 minutes, sitting looking lonely by myself in the lunchroom, because nobody from my department is on lunch with me. This is of course the more frugal and healthier option.
If I decide to run errands on my break - I am rushed through them, get back to the office, and have to figure out what to eat super quick at my desk.
If I decide to go out for lunch, I usually find someone to come with me, but I am spending between $5-$10 a day on lunch - not including my $3-$5 on breakfast. This is most obviously the most social and expensive choice.
So I hate being alone - especially for meals. That should come as no shock. but I am getting tired of eating out everyday. It's boring, expensive and unhealthy.
So I pose this question - what does everybody else do with their lunch break?
Give me some good ideas, I'd like to break free of my mold!
What would you do with a free hour in the middle of the day?
I work in a 247 call centre environment. And I am one of the few who is not in a queue answering phones. What that means is that most everybody else is on a staggered lunchtime schedule.
So depending on the time you start you get to take lunch approximately 4 hours later. Also our phone folks are not allowed to overlap lunch - so people only get to be off one person at a time.
So I get an hour for lunch every day - and the possibility of someone being off for lunch with me.
Here's the dilemma - I have an entire hour - and if I bring a lunch I finish it in about 10 minutes, sitting looking lonely by myself in the lunchroom, because nobody from my department is on lunch with me. This is of course the more frugal and healthier option.
If I decide to run errands on my break - I am rushed through them, get back to the office, and have to figure out what to eat super quick at my desk.
If I decide to go out for lunch, I usually find someone to come with me, but I am spending between $5-$10 a day on lunch - not including my $3-$5 on breakfast. This is most obviously the most social and expensive choice.
So I hate being alone - especially for meals. That should come as no shock. but I am getting tired of eating out everyday. It's boring, expensive and unhealthy.
So I pose this question - what does everybody else do with their lunch break?
Give me some good ideas, I'd like to break free of my mold!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
I am Loosing my Credibility
Have you ever been told that you talk too much?
I think that it may just be the #1 sentence that I have heard in my life.
It's been a while since I heard it - it was more of a birth through graduating High School sort of thing. Actually I have also been told that I speak very quickly, especially when I get excited.
The school bus driver I had in grade 2 used to call me Jabberwocky after the Poem. He said that the faster I spoke the more my words blurred together and stopped making sense.
I am a very sensitive person by nature - I do not always respond well to being teased - but hear something enough and you start to develop a thick skin about it.
My memory is cloudy, but I think it's a statement that just stopped bugging me because I heard it so much.
Now, as a rule, I have always felt that individuals who say little tend to be perceived as wise when they speak, by virtue of the fact that they don't choose to speak very often. I think people start assuming, that your words must be of great value if you only engage in them ever so often. Maybe it's like the economic law of supply and demand.
And even though I do talk a lot (I have never disputed that fact - but I do believe too much to be a relative term), I usually feel like what I have to say is taken seriously and respected.
I have been starting to loose that confidence lately. Sometimes it's like I'm watching the scene from a third person perspective and I can actually see people tuning out or not listening. Now this can be a normal part of interaction, and from time to time is not a big deal - I engage in such behaviours myself, it's normal.
But I have been feeling like this is my full experience of communication lately. Like every time I open my mouth to say something, the listener has already decided that not only is what I have to say not worthwhile, but also that I couldn't possibly hold any level of knowledge or expertise in what I am saying.
Now here's the kicker for me anyways - the logical part of my brain says, 'it's not worth arguing over, just stop talking' but my tongue isn't paying attention to my brain and wont stop. Then I get frustrated and annoyed as I am watching my non-listener cut me off, ignore what I say, question my credibility.
If I were to turn it into a cartoon - it would closely resemble the Coke Zero commercials with the eyeball and the 2 tongues.
Only, I am feeling kind of bullied by my non-listener(s), which is a concerning feeling to have.
And despite this I just can't seem to get smart enough to shut-up.
So the really troubling thought becomes - am I no longer credible? Do I really have no idea what I'm talking about, and am living in some sort of dream-world? Do I need to suck it up and either shut up or get educated? Or am I genuinely being bullied and need to just have a tough skin about it - like when I would be told I talk too much?
Sadly answering any of the above questions in the affirmative is a negative thing.
I think that it may just be the #1 sentence that I have heard in my life.
It's been a while since I heard it - it was more of a birth through graduating High School sort of thing. Actually I have also been told that I speak very quickly, especially when I get excited.
The school bus driver I had in grade 2 used to call me Jabberwocky after the Poem. He said that the faster I spoke the more my words blurred together and stopped making sense.
I am a very sensitive person by nature - I do not always respond well to being teased - but hear something enough and you start to develop a thick skin about it.
My memory is cloudy, but I think it's a statement that just stopped bugging me because I heard it so much.
Now, as a rule, I have always felt that individuals who say little tend to be perceived as wise when they speak, by virtue of the fact that they don't choose to speak very often. I think people start assuming, that your words must be of great value if you only engage in them ever so often. Maybe it's like the economic law of supply and demand.
And even though I do talk a lot (I have never disputed that fact - but I do believe too much to be a relative term), I usually feel like what I have to say is taken seriously and respected.
I have been starting to loose that confidence lately. Sometimes it's like I'm watching the scene from a third person perspective and I can actually see people tuning out or not listening. Now this can be a normal part of interaction, and from time to time is not a big deal - I engage in such behaviours myself, it's normal.
But I have been feeling like this is my full experience of communication lately. Like every time I open my mouth to say something, the listener has already decided that not only is what I have to say not worthwhile, but also that I couldn't possibly hold any level of knowledge or expertise in what I am saying.
Now here's the kicker for me anyways - the logical part of my brain says, 'it's not worth arguing over, just stop talking' but my tongue isn't paying attention to my brain and wont stop. Then I get frustrated and annoyed as I am watching my non-listener cut me off, ignore what I say, question my credibility.
If I were to turn it into a cartoon - it would closely resemble the Coke Zero commercials with the eyeball and the 2 tongues.
Only, I am feeling kind of bullied by my non-listener(s), which is a concerning feeling to have.
And despite this I just can't seem to get smart enough to shut-up.
So the really troubling thought becomes - am I no longer credible? Do I really have no idea what I'm talking about, and am living in some sort of dream-world? Do I need to suck it up and either shut up or get educated? Or am I genuinely being bullied and need to just have a tough skin about it - like when I would be told I talk too much?
Sadly answering any of the above questions in the affirmative is a negative thing.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Bad Food Karma
I am cursed.
Once might have been a fluke but twice now - something must be up!
Last week I went to COSTCO on my lunch break to pick-up some groceries and grabbed some pre-packaged sealed Tabbouli salad for my lunch.
I got back to my desk at work - and opened my sealed salad not due to expire for like 4 days and I found it was mouldy.
Yep - stinky, fuzzy, mouldy!
So I got up, went back to COSTCO and returned it. I ended up getting one of their hot dogs for my lunch - not nearly as healthy but reasonably safer to eat I felt.
This morning, I went down to the cafeteria in the office building to grab a bagel. So I come back to my desk with my bagel and decaf, settle back into my work load and am just about to take a bite when I notice something on the top of my bagel nestled into the sesame seeds. I take a closer look and upon close inspection to my HORROR it's a dead bug. Yup, a bug!
And remember this is me we're talking about - we all know how I feel about insects and creatures with exoskeletons in general. It was all I could do to remain composed and not scream. After all I am sitting at my desk in the office.
So I pick up my offensive treat, and rush back downstairs to return it to the cafeteria lady. She is shocked, advises it must have been packaged that way (like I care about how it happened, I am freaked out that it happened to me!) and proceeds to make me another one.
She and I both must have inspected the poor second bagel like 3 times.
So far it's got the all clear and I am cautiously eating it now.
I am not sure what the moral of the story is here - always inspect your food maybe?
I think what I need is a cup bearer - in Biblical times a cup bearer would taste and inspect everything for the king before the king would eat or drink anything. Now of course the cup bearer was actually checking for poison, but I figure the lack of possible death from poisoning on the job might be more likely to entice someone to the position in today's day and age.
Once might have been a fluke but twice now - something must be up!
Last week I went to COSTCO on my lunch break to pick-up some groceries and grabbed some pre-packaged sealed Tabbouli salad for my lunch.
I got back to my desk at work - and opened my sealed salad not due to expire for like 4 days and I found it was mouldy.
Yep - stinky, fuzzy, mouldy!
So I got up, went back to COSTCO and returned it. I ended up getting one of their hot dogs for my lunch - not nearly as healthy but reasonably safer to eat I felt.
This morning, I went down to the cafeteria in the office building to grab a bagel. So I come back to my desk with my bagel and decaf, settle back into my work load and am just about to take a bite when I notice something on the top of my bagel nestled into the sesame seeds. I take a closer look and upon close inspection to my HORROR it's a dead bug. Yup, a bug!
And remember this is me we're talking about - we all know how I feel about insects and creatures with exoskeletons in general. It was all I could do to remain composed and not scream. After all I am sitting at my desk in the office.
So I pick up my offensive treat, and rush back downstairs to return it to the cafeteria lady. She is shocked, advises it must have been packaged that way (like I care about how it happened, I am freaked out that it happened to me!) and proceeds to make me another one.
She and I both must have inspected the poor second bagel like 3 times.
So far it's got the all clear and I am cautiously eating it now.
I am not sure what the moral of the story is here - always inspect your food maybe?
I think what I need is a cup bearer - in Biblical times a cup bearer would taste and inspect everything for the king before the king would eat or drink anything. Now of course the cup bearer was actually checking for poison, but I figure the lack of possible death from poisoning on the job might be more likely to entice someone to the position in today's day and age.
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